In recent years, the popularity of the 0.50 BMG cartridge has risen among hobbyists, the para-military, as well as in various branches of the armed forces. What is needed is a firing mechanism for a breech-loaded weapon that can be adapted to heavy caliber rifles and/or shoulder-fired cannon chambered for the 0.50 BMG, the 14.5 mm Russian cartridge, the 20 mm Vulcan round and similar large cartridges. A recoil dampening device for large caliber weapons that would allow a shouldered-fired configuration for a weapon chambered for the 0.50 BMG, the 14.5 mm Russian cartridge, the 20 mm Vulcan round and similar large cartridges is shown and described in my co-pending application, Ser. No. 08/031,961, filed on Mar. 16, 1993, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Due to the popularity of the 0.50 BMG cartridge among hobbyists, the para-military, as well as various branches of the armed forces, it is also desirable to have a fully caged firing mechanism that has a high degree of safety, i.e. one not capable of firing a cartridge prior to the cartridge being chambered and the mechanism fully closed and locked, and that can be readily field stripped, cleaned and reassembled by hand without the use of tools.
U.S. Pat. No. 458,505, issued to Emil Ritter Von Skoda on Aug. 25, 1891, discloses a sliding breech-block firing mechanism such as was commonly used on artillery. Von Skoda's firing mechanism slides within guide grooves and is designed to bring the firing pin to a cocked position through the movements of the breech block. However, in Von Skoda's firing mechanism, the sear that releases firing pin is in constant engagement with the trigger release thus presenting the possibility of chambering a round and sliding the breech-chamber closed without actually cocking the firing pin. Because Von Skoda's firing mechanism slides within guide grooves, it is not likely that the Von Skoda firing mechanism could easily, or safely, be adapted to a shoulder-fired rifle chambered for the 0.50 BMG, the 14.5 Russian cartridge or the 20 mm Vulcan round. What is needed is a breech-block that can be fully caged in mortise-tenon manner and that prevents engagement of the sear by the trigger release prior to the point where the breech-block is closed.
The following references are also noted as relating to breech-loading mechanisms; U.S. Pat. No. 466,567 issued to Koerner on Jan. 5, 1892; U.S. Pat. No. 512,743 issued to Parkhurst on Jan. 16, 1894; U.S. Pat. No. 1,040,001 issued to Olsson on Oct. 1, 1912; U.S. Pat. No. 1,707,444 issued to McCann on Apr. 2, 1929; U.S. Pat. No. 2,802,400 issued to Edmund on Aug. 13, 1957; U.S. Pat. No. 2,821,885 issued to Burk on Feb. 4, 1958; U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,001 issued to Brint on Aug. 29, 1972; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,361.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a firing mechanism for breech-loaded weapons wherein the firing mechanism is fully caged, self-contained within the breech block, and automatically cocked upon cycling the action.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a firing mechanism that moves within the breech-block in a mortise and tenon configuration.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a breech-loaded firing mechanism in which the sear assembly is not engaged by the trigger release until the breech is closed by firing mechanism and the firing mechanism is fully caged.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a firing mechanism that is machined with very close tolerances and interlocking components that allow the firing mechanism to be completely stripped, cleaned and reassembled by hand without the use of tools.
These and other objects and advantages over the prior art will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description together with the drawings as described as follows.